The unStewardship: Edgeryders LBG and Edgeryders Community?

[k11]

I met Edgeryders at first LOTE and since considered myself a part of the community. It has been a community I learn from and was always happy to contribute to as much as I can.

But something very bad happened, and I’m not sure yet, how to deal with it, and how to describe it. However, I will try to find a constructive way of sharing the story. Ideal scenario for me is that we can all learn from it and possiby restructure Edgeryders LBG, so this stuff doesnt happen again.

Open community needs an open corporate shell, if any.

The story is rather banal: it involves money, unresolved conflicts, mutual blame, blackmailing and threats on behalf of some of the members of Edgeryders LBG board, loss of trust and burn outs - it is just very very ugly.

Which makes it difficult to talk about on the platform, because we don’t like ugly things. At the same time, I feel like it would be wrong to pretend this never happened, because it will mean no one will learn from it and it there will be more chance for it to happen again.

Edgeryders LBG blocking the funding without knowing anything about the project plan nor the budget?

Make a long story short using current iteration of Edgeryders LBG as a corporate shell as proposed here is not working. However, it might be brilliant model for home grown projects, it is dangerous for external teams and has almost destroyed my project.

Ironically, LOTE4 is about stewardship, so it is about the time to see whether Edgeryders legal structure is currently capable of practicing what it preaches. I would like to tell the whole story. I know this story has two sides, and I’m very likely to meet confrontation. That’s why I will be only sharing facts.

For everyone who will read it, please remember, my aim here is not confrontation. I just can’t stand hypocrisy, and believe that if ugly stuff get’s swept under the rug it becomes very dangerous.

I have to say that people involved in Edgeryders LBG have been doing a tremendous work of community engagement, outreach and organisation of LOTE events, and my respect towards this work is a main reason why I’m bothered to open this discussion.

 

[matthias]

True, this did not work

I enjoyed working with you around the LOTE3 conference last year (it was really funny, still remembering that “Your mom does not work here” note you made). So personally, I’m really sorry that your project and Edgeryders LBG screwed up, since this very probably affects how you engage in Edgeryders The Community. (Though you posted this post, which I appreciate.)

And I don’t like conflicts. So yes, I agree that  the “use Edgeryders as a company shell” thing has to be reformed. (I .) I won’t take sides here, but what should not happen again is that two projects “hosted” inside Edgeryders LBG can collide, forcing the Edgeryders board to take sides. To make a collective decision that cannot represent, in detail, what all the individuals would decide individually. And then this decision is going to be interpreted as being the personal decision by everyone involved, which it is not. And affects personal relations where it should not.

So. Is there a chance to make a difference between projects colliding, and persons? If that makes sense, I’m very much up for it. Happy to work with you again.

[alberto]

I also appreciate the directness

@Ksenia, I managed to miss this on the platform! I really appreciate the will to look issues in the eye, thanks.

I subscribe to what Matt says above. I totally subscribe to the human part – it was wonderful to see you at 31C3, and even David. Don’t get me wrong: I think he has not been entirely transparent to me. But I also had good times talking to him. Now that the source of contention has been defused, we can relax again.

However, humans screw up relationships. That’s what we do. There is no way we can have zero error rate. So – especially if this poor beautiful mutant of a company takes roots – we will do it again, despite best intentions. Projects will collide, and people will take issue. When that happens, we need a plan B, and the only one I can think of is to move on, acknowledging the screwup but without writing the people off.

I am ready to move on – in fact, I think I already have. What do you think? Are you ready to move on too?

[elf_pavlik]

Facing conflicts out in open, together as a community

I haven’t seen this post until now. From my side I would just like to +1 facing conflict situations out in open, inviting the whole community to help resolve them and documenting our experience for everyone to possibly learn from.

I remember from my stay in Matera hearing, IMO very unfortunate, comments like:

“@ArthurD sends @david.bovill home”

I do NOT remember seeing out in open (at that time I followed posts on this platform more closely), clear communication about challenges occurring in relation between Edgeryders and Viral Academy. Even that just little earlier Alberto proposed integrating VA and unMonastery closer together. Instead just some gossiping at random about VA, grant from Nominet and struggles with ER

I must admit also feeling quite disappointed hearing from @Vahagn (who I suggested to @Nadia to contact about Future Spotters in region where he lives), that he and @ArthurD ended up sending to each other angry emails. And I don’t even want to try getting into stuff like ‘righteous/wrongful side’ of a conflict, just recognize it as failure for which everyone involved simply shares part of responsibility.

I understand that board of Edgeryders LBG finds it important for the whole community to present positive image. At the same time I trust in wisdom community as broader collective and that we can shine with our natural beauty, sometimes having our lows and highs, and we don’t need to cover it up with any makeup when we drive ourselves into challenging situations.

Let’s all keep in mind possibly the main guideline in hacker community

Be excellent to each other